Apparatus for the pneumatic evacuation of materials from receptacles



March 31, 1953 v R. A. NORBOM APPARATUS FOR THE PNEUMATIC EVACUATION- OFMATERIALS FROM RECEPTACLES 3 Sheet S-Sheet 1 Fild Nov. 29, 1949JNVENTOR. Rayner J7 fi e r5077? March 31, 1953 R. A. NQRBOM 2,633,389

APPARATUS FOR THE." PNEUMATIC EVACUATION OF MATERIALS FROM RECEPTACLESFiled NOV. 29, 1949 3 Sh'eets -Sheet 2 JNVEN TOR.

March 31, 1953 R. A. NORBOM 2,633,389 APPARATUS FOR THE PNEUMATICEVACUATION v OF MATERIALS FROM RECEPTACLES 5 SheetsSheet 3 Filed Nov.29, 1949 N ml M mM H I HM M M IH A INVENTOR. flaynarfljl wom PatentedMar. 31, 1953 APPARATUS FOR THE PNEUMATIC EVACUA- TION OF MATERIALS FROMRECEPTACLES Ragnar A. Norbom, New York, N. Y., assignor to Finnie &Norbom, New York, N. Y., a partnership Application November 29, 1949,Serial No. 129,990 7 Claims. (01. 302-21) This invention relates to newand useful improvements in apparatus for the removal of material fromtanks, cars, bins and the like and especially such material as flour,grain, powdered material and the like.

A main object of the invention is to provide a Simple and efiicientapparatus for sucking out the material quickly and easily and witheconomy.

A further object is to remove the material with an apparatus which issimple, and formed of few simple parts easily operated with minimumpower requirements.

A still further object is to operate the apparatus with a minimum ofwear and friction between the parts which extend into the tanks so thatsmall particles of metal or other substances from the moving parts willnot get into the removed material.

Further and more specific objects, features, and advantages will moreclearly appear from a consideration of the detailed specificationshereinafter set forth especially when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings which illustrate a present preferred form whichthe invention may assume and which form part of the specification.

In brief and general terms the invention includes a tank or otherreceptacle having sloping side walls and at the bottom thereof alongitudinal trough or recess opening at its tap into the interior ofthe tank or receptacle. Along this bottom and resting snugly on thelower surfaces of the side walls above the trough is disposed alongitudinally slidable pipe through which air is allowed to pass. Thistrough is connected to a source of suction and the air pipe is connectedto means for sliding it along the'tank so that as the suction isproduced, air is sucked into the air pipe and enters the material at theend of the pipe and then is sucked out through the trough to a suitablecollection point.

Preferably the portion of the side walls contacted by the air pipe, asit is moved back and forth, is formed with suitable bearing metal topermit easy frictionless movement of the pipe back and forth along andin contact with the walls of the receptacle. The bearing material andthe pipe are so related and designed that when the pipe rests on thewalls it forms a seal along the lines of contact so that when suction isapplied to the trough it will draw air into and through the pipe to theend thereof wherever it happens to be. Thus, it will be seen that bymoving the pipe back and forth its end will sweep along the bottom ofthe receptacle and $110k out the material. By repeated reciprocationsalong the bottom of the tank above the trough the material is removedrapidly and gradually in small quantities.

The invention further has to do with simple means for moving the airpipe in this reciprocatory manner and to a simple effective seal wherethe air pipe enters the tank so that material, which may leak by thepipe, is caught in the seal and carried out through the suction pipe.

A present preferred form which the invention may assume is illustratedin the drawings, of which,

Fig. l is a longitudinal side elevation, partly in section, showing theapparatus associated with a bin or tank;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a vertical, transverse section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 4:

Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section through part of the apparatusand taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section taken through the apparatusoutside the tank and showing certain o erating elements;

Fi 6 is a schematic plan view of several tanks sho ing the manner inwhich t e evacuating suction may be connected selectively thereto; and,

Fig. '7 is an enlar ed cross section showing, so ewhat diagrammaticallythe alternate possibilities of connection to one tank or another.

Referring now merely to the specific form of the invention shown in thedrawing, and turning to Fig. 6, there is indicated a lay-out of severaltanks or bins H] from which the contained material is to be evacuated atwill and selectively. Associated with this battery of tanks or the likeis a suction line represented by t e pipe I I which extends alongbetween the tanks and may be made continuous by means of severalintermediate cou ling pieces such as [2. These coupling pieces i2 mayalso be used to connect the suction lineto one or the other tank or binit] as shown in the upper portion of Fig. 6 and in Fig. '7, wherein theconnection piece or coupling member 12 is connected between a section ofthe suction pipe H and an exhaust or outlet pipe I3 leading to one ofthe tanks or bins Hi to be evacuated at will. It is also obvious thatthis particular arrangement will permit only one tank or bin to beevacuated at a time.

This exhaust pipe It in connection with each tank is related to thebottom of each tank or bin and this relation and construction isillustrated on somewhat enlarged scale in Figs. 3 and 4. Preferably thelongitudinal side walls I4 of each tank or bin are sloped downwardly ina convergent manner as shown in Fig. 3, and near their bottom edges andalong the entire length of the walls are disposed bearing wearing platesi5.

Beneath the lower edges of these side walls the bottom of the tanks areformed as a chute or trough I 6 which opens into the tank all along itslength and at one end, as shown in Fig. 4, opens to the exhaust oroutlet pipe l3. Of course, with the tank full of powdered or granularmaterial such as flour, grain or similar material, the trough IE will befilled up. A source of suction, not shown, is connected to the end ofthe pipe H, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 6, and this will,therefore, through the exhaust pipe 13, tend to suck the material out ofthe tank. In order to facilitate and make more effective this suction,an air admission pipe I! is extensible into the tank through an openingtherein above the suction connection and in such an axial line that thelower walls of the pipe I! rest on the bearing plates 15 to form a sortof scaled connection between the upper portion of the tank and thetrough. It will be, therefore, apparent that the further the pipe 1'! isextended in this manner into the tank, the more will the upper portionof the tank be sealed off. The pipe I! has openings at both ends so thatair is free to flow therethrough. When, therefore, suction is applied tothe pipe l3 from the main suction line, as above described, then airwill be pulled into the pipe I! and will pass out of its inner endwithin the tank in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1,whereby, the incoming air will sweep down around the end of the pipe I?and through the material and into the suction pipe [3 and out throughthe main suction line H to some suitable point of collection (notshown). As the air thus sweeps it will carry some of the material withit.

The front end of the pipe l? is closed by a tapered r pointed end wall[8 but has slotted openings [9 in its periphery near this end wall topermit the passage of air but by having the end of the pipe pointed, itmakes it easier to advance the pipe slowly into a body of granulated orpowdered material.

In its movement back and forth in the tank the pipe 17 passes throughthe end wall 20 of the tank and this opening is closed by what may becalled a floating seal. This seal Fig. 4 comprises leather ring gasket2i surrounding the pipe I? outside the line of the end wall 20. Aroundthis gasket is disposed a tight coiled tension spring 22. Disposedaround the pipe 17 on each side of the gasket 2| are flanged aluminumrings 23 and 24 with their flanges resting on top of the sides of thegasket, and with their inner walls spaced slightly from the surface ofthe pipe 17. A cover plate 25 surrounds the pipe I? and bears againstthe outer ring 23 and has a flange 26 disposed against the wall 20 ofthe tank and fastened there by a bolt 21. The space radially outside ofthe gasket and the aluminum rings, and within the cover plate, willpermit any tank material drawn thereinto to pass around this annularspace and drop into the suction pipe [3, as shown at the bottom of Fig.14.

In order to slowly reciprocate the air pipe 41 backward and forwardwithin the tank, it is supported outside the tank largely on a pair oflarge rollers 28 and 29 suitably supported on pedestals 30 and 31 fromthe floor. In order to reciprocate the pipe ll, a pair of chains 32 and33 are provided and disposed respectively on opposite sides along thelength of the pipe, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Each chain passes oversprockets, such as 34 and 35 at their ends. These sprockets are mountedon horizontal frame plates 36 and 37 which are supported at each end bymeans of pedestal members 38 and 39. The sprockets 34 are mounted on acommon hub 40, which is connected to and driven by a motor 4H mounted ona suitable base. The top runs of the chains are connected by means of across bar 43 and this bar passes through a hole on a lug 44, projectingup from the top of the pipe 17. Any suitable means (not shown) may beemployed to move the motor in one direction or another at regulatedspeeds and to reverse the direction at will.

In the operation of this apparatus it will be assumed that the tank isfilled with granular material and is to be emptied. The air pipe willnormally be disposed in the tank about as it is shown in Fig. 1. Theproper coupling is then made between the suction line i i and theexhaust pipe 83 of the particular tank to be evacuated by means of thecooperating coupling connection 12. The suction source is started andthe drive motor 4! energized so that immediately the air pipe is startedto move into the tank and by means of suitable devices well known butnot shown the motion is reversed at the end of its forward travel sothat the direction is reversed and the pipe is pulled back to itsinitial position. All this time the suction is pulling air into the pipei7 and this air is being drawn down around the end of this pipe into thematerial adjacent this and then out through the trough i6 and theconnection l3 to a suitable collection point (not shown).

The sliding movement of this single pipe I! is made with minimum powerrequirements and with minimum friction because of the friction reducingbearing plates I 5 referred to. In thus providing only one sliding pipeand reducing the friction resulting from this sliding movement there isavoided the possibility that any small particles of the pipe metal ormaterial will be rubbed off and get into the evacuated material whichwould be a serious matter especially if the material happened to be foodproducts such as flour or rains.

While the invention has been described in detail and shown with respectto the accompanying drawing, it is not to be limited to such details,since many changes and modifications may be made in the inventionwithout departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Hence, it isdesired to cover any and all forms and modifications of the inventionwhich may come within the language and scope of any one or more of theappended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a device of the class described, a receptacle having downwardlyconverging side walls forming a longitudinal opening between their loweredges, said receptacle having a trough disposed below and opening intosaid receptacle, said trough connected to asource of suction, and an airpipe projecting into said receptacle and slidable along and in contactwith the lower edges of said walls.

2. In a device of the class described, a receptacle having convergingwalls, a slidable air pipe extending into said receptacle and resting insealing contact between said walls to divide the receptacle into upperand lower compartments, the compartment below the pipe being connectedto a source of suction.

3. In a device of the class described, a receptacle having convergingwalls, a slidable air pipe extending into said receptacle and resting insealing contact wi h said walls, said walls having bearing means alongtheir surfaces in contact with said pipe to effect the sealing action,said receptacle having an elongate space below the pipe opening into thereceptacle said elongate space being connected to a source of suction.

4. In a device of the class described, a receptacle having convergingwalls and a trough at the bottom thereof opening into said receptacle,an open air pipe extending into said receptacle and adapted to sealinglyrest on opposite wall faces above the trough, means to slide the pipealong the receptacle to alter the area sealed oii by the pipe, thetrough connected to a source of suction.

5. In a device of the class described, a receptacle having a trough-likerecess in the bottom thereof co-extensive with the length of thereceptacle and opening at its top into said receptacle, said troughconnected to a source of suction, the walls of the receptacle narrowingdown to lie closely adjacent each other above the trough, an open airpipe projecting into said receptacle and slidable in sealing contactalong the walls of said receptacle just above the trough, meansconnected to the pipe outside the receptacle to slide it along withinthe receptacle, the length of the pipe being greater than the length ofthe receptacle.

6. In a device of the class described, a receptacle having a trough-likerecess in the bottom thereof co-extensive with the length of thereceptacle and opening at its top into said receptacle, said troughconnected to a source of suction, the walls of the receptacle narrowingdown to lie closely adjacent each other above the trough, an open airpipe projecting into said receptacle and slidable in sealing contactalong the walls of said receptacle just above the trough, meansconnected to the pipe outside the receptacle to slide it along withinthe receptacle, the length of the pipe being greater than the length ofthe receptacle, and a sealed chamber around the pipe as it enters thereceptacle, said chamber connected to the connection leading to thesource of suction whereby material leaking past the seal will be suckedout.

7. In a device of the class described, a receptacle having a trough-likerecess in the bottom thereof coextensive with the length of thereceptacle and, opening at its top into said receptacle, said troughconnected to a source of suction, the walls of the receptacle narrowingdown to lie closely adjacent each other above the trough, an open airpipe projecting into said receptacle and sildable in sealing contactalong the walls of said receptacle just above the trough, meansconnected to the pipe outside the receptacle to slide it along withinthe receptacle, the length of the pipe being greater than the length ofthe receptacle, the inner end of the air pipe having a pointed end wall,and lateral openings in the sides of the pipe near the end wall, wherebyair can pass out of the pipe and the entry of the pipe into the materialin the receptacle is facilitated.

RAGNAR A. NORBOM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,337,738 VonPorat Apr. 20, 19201,778,100 Webb Oct. 14, 1930 2,030,553 Tiley Feb. 11, 1936 2,190,726McKenna Feb. 20, 1940 2,190,727 McKenna Feb. 20, 1940 2,311,758Johansson Feb. 23, 1943 2,440,379 Norbom Apr. 27, 1948 2,477,334 HibnerJuly 26, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 596,034 Germany Apr.26, 1934

